What is it?
All DJs listen up. Aren’t you eager to make the most of your career and share your skills with the whole world to hear?
Do you want to start your own Internet radio or show? Most importantly, would you like to do that from the comfort of your own home, using nothing but a laptop?
If the answer to these questions is affirmative, then it would be beneficial to keep on reading. All the information you need has been presented below, so stay with us.
About the software
SAM Broadcaster, as you probably know, is an Internet Radio broadcasting software. SAM stands for Streaming Audio Manager. Quite self-explanatory. The product is used by over 200,000 radio stations in about 150 countries.
On top of this, they company is the proud winner of 21 software and web awards.
The creators made two similar apps with several differences. One of them is the Cloud version and the other is the Pro version, so choose between them based on your specific needs.
The software has been created by Spacial in 1998. Of course, many new and updated versions of it have been released ever since.
The software works pretty well with the most popular streaming servers such as SHOUTcast, SHOUTcast2, Live365, SpacialNet etc.
The cost
With the Cloud version you get 7 days free of charge to test the product. After that, you have 4 different packages to choose from:
- bronze (15$/month),
- silver (25$/month),
- gold (75$/month),
- enterprise (135$/month).
You also have the option of making an annual payment for each of these, except the enterprise package. Obviously, if you choose this option, it would be a good deal. If you opt for this, the costs would change:
- bronze (13.75$/month),
- silver (22.92$/month),
- gold (68.75$/month).
The packages are different from one another in aspects like the number of stations, storage size, the number of additional DJs or listeners etc.
On the other hand, with the Pro version, you get 14 days trial free of charge to test the software. After this period, if you decide to go through with it, you will have to pay 299$ for the annual package. The other option is you pay 330$ in 3 installments over a 3-month period, which is a pretty good deal considering the benefits you would be getting.
If you are still undecided, you have an option to get both versions for a discounted price.
For more information, please click on the link below:
Why it’s special
- For one thing, it really is cloud based, hence the name. It can run 24 hours, even when you are asleep. When you install and set it up, it might look a bit complicated at first. However, with time, you’ll find out it is very practical and user-friendly. You can easily remove any unnecessities from the main window or add anything new for that matter.
- Managing multiple additional DJs is as simple as it gets + each gets a free copy of SAM live-DJ software.
- You can look at the listener stats and the reports at any time.
- Depending on your plans, you have three DJ options. The first one is the Auto DJ; it will automatically queue songs and play them at the correct time. Even if the queue is empty, the virtual DJ will keep playing songs. It never stops. The second is the Play queue mode; it will queue and play the songs automatically until the last song of the queue ends. After that, it stops. The third one is the manual DJ which relies fully on the user to handle ALL the aspects of the playlist.
Set up and installation
Start the downloading process by clicking on this link:
Before hitting download you should make sure your computer meets the minimum system requirements. Running other programs on the same computer, will very likely affect its’ performance and stability.
After the software has been downloaded, you are ready to install it. There isn’t much work to it at this point. You should just follow the commands, select your specific needs and of course, agree with their terms & conditions. The way the set up happens depends on the browser or operating system you are using.
After the installation, you can now open the software. When the desktop page appears, what you want to do is click on the Window pull menu. You go to Encoders, click on that and choose one of them. Let’s say, you chose MP3. Then, you have to setup the bitrate. The standard speed is 128Kbps. After this, you head to settings, broadcaster and fill in the blank spaces with the server’s information.
When you’re done, all what is left is to highlight the encoder and start encoding, of course.
Comparison
Similary to Radio DJ and Radio Boss, SAM Broadcaster is only available for Windows. That’s not the case with other software, such as Mixxx, Nicecast, StudioKing. In other aspects, it really depends on what you’re looking for.
If you like to be in control, put your shows together while having to manage numerous tools simultaneously, then you should go for it. However, it should be stated that among the available options, it’s the most expensive one along with Virtual DJ 8.
A great alternative for Mac owners is Nicecast, which comes at a great price of 59$ annually.
There are also free options too, like:
- Mixxx,
- Radio DJ,
- Winamp,
- BUTT etc.
In summary
If you are serious about starting to broadcast your own radio show, then this software is surely one of the top choices. To be fair, if it wasn’t any good, it wouldn’t be the leading solution on a market with a couple of great, free options. After all, you do have the free trial period. That is a win-win situation for everyone. You can try it without having to pay. If you don’t like it, you can cancel anytime. No strings attached.
